WEBVTT 00:00:01.339 --> 00:00:04.120 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:07.080 Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:10.160 taken. And when he had caused the tribe of Benjamin 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:13.199 to come near by their families, the family of 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.539 Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was 00:00:16.539 --> 00:00:19.539 taken, and when they sought him, he could not 00:00:19.539 --> 00:00:22.679 be found. Therefore they inquired of the Lord 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:26.109 further, if a man should yet come thither. And 00:00:26.109 --> 00:00:28.609 the Lord answered, Behold, he hath hid himself 00:00:28.609 --> 00:00:31.989 among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him 00:00:31.989 --> 00:00:34.729 thence. And when he stood among the people, he 00:00:34.729 --> 00:00:37.210 was higher than all of the people from his shoulders 00:00:37.210 --> 00:00:40.670 and upward. And Samuel said unto all the people, 00:00:40.789 --> 00:00:46.329 See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there 00:00:46.329 --> 00:00:49.149 is none like him among the people. And the people 00:00:49.149 --> 00:00:53.670 shouted and said, God save the king. Then Samuel 00:00:53.670 --> 00:00:56.109 told the people the manner of the kingdom, and 00:00:56.109 --> 00:00:58.750 wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the 00:00:58.750 --> 00:01:02.409 Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every 00:01:02.409 --> 00:01:06.170 man to his house. And Saul also went home to 00:01:06.170 --> 00:01:09.290 Gibeah. And there went with him a band of men 00:01:09.290 --> 00:01:12.569 whose hearts God had touched. But the children 00:01:12.569 --> 00:01:15.810 of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And 00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:18.849 they despised him, and brought him no presents. 00:01:19.189 --> 00:01:24.420 But he held his peace. Then Nahash the Ammonite 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:28.099 came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. And 00:01:28.099 --> 00:01:31.659 all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make 00:01:31.659 --> 00:01:34.780 a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. And 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:38.019 Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:41.000 will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:44.620 out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach 00:01:44.620 --> 00:01:48.439 upon all Israel. And the elders of Jabesh said 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:51.319 unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:54.280 may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel. 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:57.659 And then, if there be no man to save us, we will 00:01:57.659 --> 00:02:01.180 come out to thee. Then came the messengers to 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:04.019 Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:06.920 of the people. And all the people lifted up their 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:10.900 voices and wept. And behold, Saul came after 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:14.000 the herd out of the field, and Saul said, What 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.020 aileth the people that they weep? And they told 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:20.360 him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. And the 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:23.159 Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:26.659 tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. And 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:29.520 he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:32.419 and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel 00:02:32.419 --> 00:02:35.979 by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever 00:02:35.979 --> 00:02:38.979 cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:42.800 so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:45.879 of the Lord fell, On the people. And they came 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:49.520 out with one consent. And when he had numbered 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:52.919 them in Bezek. The children of Israel. That were 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:57.360 300 ,000. And the men of Judah 30 ,000. And they 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:59.699 said unto the messengers that came. Thus shall 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:02.860 ye say unto the men of Jabesh Gilead. Tomorrow 00:03:02.860 --> 00:03:06.439 by that time the sun be hot. Ye shall have help. 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:09.300 And the messengers came. And showed it to the 00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:12.460 men of Jabesh. And they were glad. Therefore 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:15.750 the men of Jabesh said. Tomorrow we will come 00:03:15.750 --> 00:03:18.810 out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that 00:03:18.810 --> 00:03:22.949 seemeth good unto you. And so it was on the morrow 00:03:22.949 --> 00:03:25.009 that Saul put the people in three companies, 00:03:25.229 --> 00:03:27.389 and they came into the midst of the host in the 00:03:27.389 --> 00:03:30.469 morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the 00:03:30.469 --> 00:03:34.789 heat of the day. And it came to pass that they 00:03:34.789 --> 00:03:37.569 which remained were scattered, so that two of 00:03:37.569 --> 00:03:40.599 them were not left together. And the people said 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.780 unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:47.180 reign over us? Bring the men that we may put 00:03:47.180 --> 00:03:51.340 them to death. And Saul said, There shall not 00:03:51.340 --> 00:03:54.080 a man be put to death this day, for today the 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.659 Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel. Then said 00:03:57.659 --> 00:04:00.340 Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to 00:04:00.340 --> 00:04:03.479 Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. And all 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:06.199 the people went to Gilgal, and there they made 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:09.740 Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. And there 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:12.539 they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:15.740 before the Lord. And there Saul and all the men 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:20.160 of Israel rejoiced greatly. So there you see 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:23.240 it. We have three times that Saul was king. So 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:25.980 when was he really king? And why these three 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:32.160 different occasions? Does anybody in their own 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:35.439 personal studies or... Consideration of these 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:37.639 verses have anything that they want to bring 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:40.379 out that they found interesting that they think 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:42.079 we ought to hear. I want to give opportunity 00:04:42.079 --> 00:05:23.269 for any preparation that was made. No. Why would 00:05:23.269 --> 00:05:40.189 they be afraid of Saul? Because he... Well, it 00:05:40.189 --> 00:05:43.329 seems that they understood Saul as representing 00:05:43.329 --> 00:05:50.250 God. So that would be why when Saul... They didn't 00:05:50.250 --> 00:05:52.350 know it, but it tells us in verse 6 that the 00:05:52.350 --> 00:05:55.829 Spirit of God came upon Saul. So really, he was... 00:05:56.599 --> 00:05:59.240 he was doing God's work there when he called 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:03.620 Israel together. Whether they knew that or not 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:07.779 or they just understood Saul to be the king or 00:06:07.779 --> 00:06:10.060 Saul to be God's representative, we're not exactly 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:15.660 sure. That is interesting though. Anybody else? 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:29.319 Unlike the later character of Saul, to say that 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:32.579 the Lord accomplished salvation in Israel, the 00:06:32.579 --> 00:06:36.720 later Saul is pretty bold in himself. Yeah, Saul 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.720 does acknowledge that it was God that brought 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:53.459 salvation. Okay, well then we'll move on to what 00:06:53.459 --> 00:06:56.240 I have discovered and maybe we can discover some 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:59.319 more things together. You have this question 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:04.759 at the end of chapter 27, the children of Belial 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:09.779 who said, how shall this man save us? And questioning 00:07:09.779 --> 00:07:13.560 whether or not Saul was fit to be king and whether 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:18.060 or not he could accomplish anything. How does 00:07:18.060 --> 00:07:21.759 it turn out? Were they right or were they wrong? 00:07:22.459 --> 00:07:25.060 Again, the text, the narrative doesn't really 00:07:25.060 --> 00:07:28.779 tell us. We already read again that at the end 00:07:28.779 --> 00:07:32.300 they were called to task. Why were they even 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:39.519 called to task? Did anybody consider that? When 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:43.139 they despised Saul, was that a good thing or 00:07:43.139 --> 00:07:47.910 a bad thing? So what should have happened to 00:07:47.910 --> 00:07:53.250 them when they despised Saul and why? Anybody 00:07:53.250 --> 00:08:07.350 know? That's the truth. Now why? Well, when you 00:08:07.350 --> 00:08:09.870 rebel against God's anointed, who are you really 00:08:09.870 --> 00:08:17.500 rebelling against? God himself. So now, Jake, 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:22.259 I appreciate the thought, but was it right for 00:08:22.259 --> 00:08:25.160 Saul to pardon these people? Did he have the 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:28.139 right to do that? Was that a good thing? Or was 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:33.259 that a bad thing? And why did he do it? What 00:08:33.259 --> 00:08:37.220 about this hiding? Why do we find Saul hiding 00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:41.700 in the stuff? Was that a sign of humility? He 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:46.059 just wasn't sure that he could cut it? Wasn't 00:08:46.059 --> 00:08:51.559 sure if he was going to be able to be king. Where 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:55.379 do we see elsewhere in the Old Testament where 00:08:55.379 --> 00:09:03.960 the tribes are coming before Joshua to find this 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:06.200 guy? Who was that guy? Does anybody remember? 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:12.919 Achan. Now that's strange, isn't it? That the 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:15.559 only other story in the Old Testament where you 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:19.320 have all the tribes of Israel coming by lot to 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:23.779 locate this one guy, the one guy is what? A rebel 00:09:23.779 --> 00:09:28.580 against God. What did he can do? Buried him under 00:09:28.580 --> 00:09:31.860 his tent. And what happened to him at the end? 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:40.019 First they stoned him. Then they burned him. 00:09:45.389 --> 00:09:48.549 In chapter, the whole cutting up the oxen, did 00:09:48.549 --> 00:09:50.950 that bring anything, any other story that we've 00:09:50.950 --> 00:10:00.429 recently looked at back to your mind? Okay. In 00:10:00.429 --> 00:10:02.850 that case, remember, they raped and they killed 00:10:02.850 --> 00:10:06.970 the concubine. And that was, remember, the men 00:10:06.970 --> 00:10:10.210 of Benjamin. That's where Saul was from. So they 00:10:10.210 --> 00:10:12.850 cut up the concubine, sent them into all of Israel. 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:16.039 And all Israel said, nobody's going to do that 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:17.919 kind of a heinous thing. We're going to kill 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:20.340 everyone from the tribe of Benjamin. And, of 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:22.179 course, they leave 400. And then they go and 00:10:22.179 --> 00:10:25.600 they kidnap 400 wives from Jabesh Gilead. And 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:28.620 they bring them back to the tribe of Benjamin. 00:10:28.659 --> 00:10:31.460 And that's how the tribe of Benjamin was able 00:10:31.460 --> 00:10:35.279 to continue on. It sounds pretty similar to that, 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:38.220 doesn't it? Why would that be? Why would God 00:10:38.220 --> 00:10:40.360 in his providence and why would the writer of 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:43.990 the book of Samuel? Structure that in just that 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:48.830 way. Now, what about this in verse 6 of chapter 00:10:48.830 --> 00:10:52.190 11? It says, the Spirit of God came upon Saul. 00:10:53.629 --> 00:10:56.570 Has anybody, now the last time the Spirit rushed 00:10:56.570 --> 00:11:05.169 on Saul, it was the Spirit of who? Before he, 00:11:05.389 --> 00:11:10.879 it's in verse 6 of chapter 10. The Spirit of 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:13.360 the Lord, that is, the Spirit of Jehovah, or 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:15.639 I guess if you have the Legacy Bible, you would 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:19.620 have the Spirit of Yahweh. They're all trying 00:11:19.620 --> 00:11:22.840 to catch up with King James. Light years ahead, 00:11:22.980 --> 00:11:25.179 we have the Spirit of the Lord. Now, why the 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:30.360 two different things? Why do we have the Spirit 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:33.500 of the Lord rushing on Saul in one place and 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:37.080 the Spirit of God rushing on Saul in the other 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:41.720 place? Is it a different spirit? Anybody got 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:46.000 a venture? Marie says no. Marie is right. So 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:47.820 why are we calling it two different things? Does 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:51.100 anybody remember where the only other time where 00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:54.960 the Spirit of God came upon someone, who that 00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:02.460 someone was? No. The Spirit of Yahweh rushed 00:12:02.460 --> 00:12:08.860 upon Samson. Alright, then let's turn to Numbers 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:28.259 chapter 24. If you want to look at, if you're 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:29.779 taking notes and you want to write this down, 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:34.740 you can write down Joshua chapter 7, verses 13 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:45.159 to 15. Early Joshua 7 is all about Achan. So 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:48.679 let's see, Numbers 24, 1 through 3. And when 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:51.019 Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:54.779 Israel, he was not, as at other times, to seek 00:12:54.779 --> 00:12:57.690 for enchantments, but he set his face toward 00:12:57.690 --> 00:13:00.889 the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, 00:13:00.950 --> 00:13:03.509 and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according 00:13:03.509 --> 00:13:06.809 to their tribes, and the Spirit of God came upon 00:13:06.809 --> 00:13:10.210 him. And he took up his parable and said, Balaam, 00:13:10.289 --> 00:13:13.610 the son of Beor, hath said, and the man whose 00:13:13.610 --> 00:13:15.870 eyes are open hath said, and then he goes on 00:13:15.870 --> 00:13:18.090 and he prophesies. And that's the only other 00:13:18.090 --> 00:13:19.809 time in the Old Testament where the Spirit of 00:13:19.809 --> 00:13:22.429 God comes upon a person, and it comes upon Balaam. 00:13:23.090 --> 00:13:25.269 Now, I'm sure we're all, we're not going to, 00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:27.620 We don't need to review Balaam's life, but if 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:30.419 you want to, you can. It's not a particularly 00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:33.519 good thing. He wants to kill all the children 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:38.340 of Israel. Remember, the angel of the Lord stands 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:40.620 in front of his donkey and then his donkey talks 00:13:40.620 --> 00:13:48.460 to him. Why do you think that the writer of Samuel 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:52.220 here has put all those things in there? Is that 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:57.789 just... Is that just happenstance? Is that just 00:13:57.789 --> 00:14:00.250 by chance? Did he do it on purpose? And if he 00:14:00.250 --> 00:14:02.309 did it on purpose, I think we would all say that 00:14:02.309 --> 00:14:05.169 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he did. 00:14:05.289 --> 00:14:10.129 Why would all these kind of stories be woven 00:14:10.129 --> 00:14:13.990 into this whole narrative about Saul coming to 00:14:13.990 --> 00:14:21.850 kingship? Anybody got any ideas? What do you 00:14:21.850 --> 00:14:27.289 think, Caleb? I mean, these are not really great 00:14:27.289 --> 00:14:31.710 stories. We'd like to hear the story of a king 00:14:31.710 --> 00:14:35.149 maybe like the way George Washington came to 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:39.850 be president. We don't have that here. We don't 00:14:39.850 --> 00:14:43.950 have this kind of romantic hero champion. But 00:14:43.950 --> 00:14:53.799 why is he casting Saul in that way? Okay, go 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:57.480 ahead. I thought that last week we had said that 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:05.799 in the Old Testament only Saul, David, and Samson 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:08.720 had the Spirit of the Lord rush upon them. That's 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:13.000 right. But Balaam too? Well, it didn't rush on 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:14.139 Balaam. Oh, it didn't rush on Balaam. It was 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:16.539 the Spirit of God. Right, the rushing. Yeah. 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:24.620 The Holy Spirit comes upon all the judges, but 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:27.759 he only rushes on Samson. Are we still broadcasting? 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:34.919 Yes? I think so. Okay. Why is that? Anybody got 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:39.519 any idea? What does it do functionally in your 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:43.360 mind when I remind you of all these other stories 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.000 in the Old Testament that are kind of interwoven 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:57.620 into this story of Saul becoming a king? Okay? 00:15:57.620 --> 00:15:59.899 Were you going to say something? Well, maybe 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:02.240 it seems like it's sort of a logical conclusion 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:10.440 of all these other missteps in the past. It for 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:13.539 sure at least casts a shadow of doubt and kind 00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:17.580 of a darkness over the whole thing. Like, this 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:22.679 isn't exactly Israel's triumphant moment. God 00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:25.519 has said he's going to give them a king, the 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.879 king that they want, and he's going to bring 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:32.879 kingship to Israel, and Israel is going to be 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:38.019 a kingdom. But it's not a happy celebration. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.440 I think that's one of the reasons why you get 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.580 this switching back and forth, where Samuel is 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:49.629 both condemning them or he is... calling them 00:16:49.629 --> 00:16:51.929 out for their sin and their rebellion, and on 00:16:51.929 --> 00:16:54.750 the other hand, then he seems to be working with 00:16:54.750 --> 00:16:58.350 Saul, and he has some good things to say, and 00:16:58.350 --> 00:17:00.809 he lays down the rules of the kingdom. God is 00:17:00.809 --> 00:17:08.230 working, but the way that the king is brought 00:17:08.230 --> 00:17:14.710 to Israel is not the way that it should have 00:17:14.710 --> 00:17:18.140 been brought to Israel. God would have brought 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:22.000 the king in his time. This wasn't his time. It 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:23.759 wasn't the way that it should have happened. 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:26.400 It shouldn't have happened in rebellion. And 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:31.180 yet, Saul is God's anointed. Saul is the king 00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:34.420 in Israel. And so when people rebel against the 00:17:34.420 --> 00:17:37.480 king, and this is the last part of the kind of 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:40.140 dark and shadowy thing, it's really the first 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:45.119 instance where Saul Acts independently of what 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:48.079 God had told him to do. You notice when we read 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:52.980 there. The people say to Samuel. You show us 00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:57.299 where these people are that question Saul. We're 00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:59.920 going to put him to death. And Saul doesn't even 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:03.259 allow Samuel to answer. Saul just jumps right 00:18:03.259 --> 00:18:06.680 in and says. There shall not be a man put to 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:08.960 death today. For today the Lord hath wrought 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.019 salvation in Israel. Now why do you think he 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:17.029 did that? Was that a noble thing that he did? 00:18:18.710 --> 00:18:22.329 Was that to protect the name of God? To guard 00:18:22.329 --> 00:18:27.009 over the day? Why was he hiding in the stuff? 00:18:28.069 --> 00:18:30.650 Who's got some thoughts on that? We'll see if 00:18:30.650 --> 00:18:33.170 this is a one -off at the end of chapter 11 or 00:18:33.170 --> 00:18:36.049 if this is consistent with what we see even in 00:18:36.049 --> 00:18:45.849 chapter 10. Why was he hiding? Go say more. He 00:18:45.849 --> 00:18:53.049 didn't want that responsibility on him. Okay, 00:18:53.089 --> 00:18:55.170 that's one opinion. Anybody else have another 00:18:55.170 --> 00:18:58.390 opinion? Probably thinking they were going to 00:18:58.390 --> 00:19:05.390 reject him and kill him. Okay. Saul is predominantly 00:19:05.390 --> 00:19:14.819 or only ever interested in who? Okay. So he was 00:19:14.819 --> 00:19:18.779 hiding exactly the reason that dad just said. 00:19:19.220 --> 00:19:22.220 He was afraid that the lot was going to be cast 00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:25.480 on him and all of Israel was going to say, oh 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:28.960 no, we're not going to have that guy. And they 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:32.140 would either stone him or burn him or run him 00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:35.759 through with a blade or whatever other humiliating 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:40.039 or life -threatening deeds that they might do 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:45.029 to him. So he hid. He hid until he was sure. 00:19:45.170 --> 00:19:49.369 And then you notice what happened. God touched 00:19:49.369 --> 00:19:51.470 the hearts of some men and they go back with 00:19:51.470 --> 00:19:56.230 him. Now, you may have mighty men there. We're 00:19:56.230 --> 00:19:59.829 not even sure if they were wealthy men or if 00:19:59.829 --> 00:20:02.829 they were mighty as in battle. But whatever it 00:20:02.829 --> 00:20:06.150 was, they were influential men. And only then 00:20:06.150 --> 00:20:10.140 is Saul ready then to go back to his... his life 00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:14.920 of watching over donkeys at his dad's place out 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:19.460 in the fields. We have some irony also in here, 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:24.359 don't we? Is it ironic that here's this guy that's 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:26.900 a head taller than everybody else around, and 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:30.660 he's lost, he's hidden. How is it that the biggest 00:20:30.660 --> 00:20:33.960 guy in Israel is able to hide so that nobody 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:37.789 can find him? And then there's also a link to 00:20:37.789 --> 00:20:42.269 what? What else has been lost when the story 00:20:42.269 --> 00:20:50.509 of Saul first got started? Well, what was Saul 00:20:50.509 --> 00:20:54.150 doing when he ran into Samuel? He was looking 00:20:54.150 --> 00:20:57.970 for his lost donkeys. So now, here we have the 00:20:57.970 --> 00:21:02.390 king of Israel, God's anointed, is lost in the 00:21:02.390 --> 00:21:05.799 same way that these... donkeys were lost back 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:09.059 at the very beginning. It's ironic at least. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:14.779 I mean, it doesn't speak highly of Saul. You 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:18.859 have this whole shadowy kind of dark where you're 00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:22.119 not exactly sure what's going on. Is this a good 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:24.579 thing? Is this a bad thing? How bad of a thing 00:21:24.579 --> 00:21:27.440 is this? What kind of king is Saul going to be? 00:21:30.829 --> 00:21:35.869 So now you tell me what I think about him pardoning 00:21:35.869 --> 00:21:38.069 these guys that had rebelled against God. Was 00:21:38.069 --> 00:21:40.730 that a good thing, a merciful thing, or a bad 00:21:40.730 --> 00:21:42.930 thing? I don't know what you think. Okay, what 00:21:42.930 --> 00:21:47.970 do I think? You think it's bad. Okay. Is there 00:21:47.970 --> 00:21:51.309 anywhere else in 1 Samuel where we have evidence 00:21:51.309 --> 00:21:57.009 of some people who had rebelled against God? 00:21:58.029 --> 00:22:00.430 And they hadn't been put to death, but they should 00:22:00.430 --> 00:22:07.589 have been. No. Before this. Sorry. Prior to this 00:22:07.589 --> 00:22:19.569 time. Okay. Eli's sons, wasn't it? He spared 00:22:19.569 --> 00:22:22.670 them too. And the outcome of that for Eli was 00:22:22.670 --> 00:22:26.910 what? He was removed. His whole family. None 00:22:26.910 --> 00:22:31.140 of his None of his descendants would serve till 00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:33.940 old age in the priesthood. And that's exactly 00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:36.359 what happened. Remember, his two sons, Hophni 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:39.440 and Phinehas, died in battle on the same day. 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:44.160 So I don't think it was a good thing or a merciful 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:48.319 thing. I think the reason that Saul let him off 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:51.960 the hook was, again, for his own benefit. Who 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:56.250 wants to see the first act of a king? killing 00:22:56.250 --> 00:22:59.630 the people that rebelled against him. So I'll 00:22:59.630 --> 00:23:01.549 just be merciful, and that way the people will 00:23:01.549 --> 00:23:03.650 like me. I won't put anybody to death, and maybe 00:23:03.650 --> 00:23:08.230 everybody could be happy for a day. Of course, 00:23:08.230 --> 00:23:10.529 then Samuel gets up and reads them the riot, 00:23:10.690 --> 00:23:14.809 just like Samuel always does. Okay, so that's 00:23:14.809 --> 00:23:18.190 one thing. Saul is cast in kind of a bad light. 00:23:19.569 --> 00:23:26.470 How is God cast in this chapter and a half? Is 00:23:26.470 --> 00:23:31.589 there any evidence that God is king? Is there 00:23:31.589 --> 00:23:33.750 anything in the narrative part that we read that 00:23:33.750 --> 00:23:41.630 would inform us that God is king? I have four 00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:50.990 places, but we could probably find more. Well, 00:23:51.009 --> 00:23:53.660 the first one is that the very... where we first 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:56.299 started reading in verse 18, the first thing 00:23:56.299 --> 00:24:00.539 that Samuel says, he says unto the children of 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:04.619 Israel, 10, 18, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 00:24:04.859 --> 00:24:08.519 I brought up Israel out of Egypt and delivered 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:12.079 you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:16.059 of the hand of all the kingdoms and of them that 00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:19.759 oppressed you. And you've this day rebelled against 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:25.730 me. What? What kind of language is that? How 00:24:25.730 --> 00:24:32.130 do we say that is? Covenantal language. So God 00:24:32.130 --> 00:24:36.589 is, remember, the king in the covenant. He's 00:24:36.589 --> 00:24:38.569 on the one side of the covenant. He's the one 00:24:38.569 --> 00:24:40.690 that establishes it. He's the one that's faithful 00:24:40.690 --> 00:24:43.769 to it. He's reminding them that he is their king, 00:24:43.970 --> 00:24:47.289 that they owe their allegiance to him, that he's 00:24:47.289 --> 00:24:50.029 the one that redeemed them. And it's interesting, 00:24:50.130 --> 00:24:53.170 isn't it, that... He redeemed them from the Egyptians 00:24:53.170 --> 00:25:03.369 and who else? What's the word in it? Kingdoms. 00:25:03.369 --> 00:25:08.349 What do all kingdoms have in common? They all 00:25:08.349 --> 00:25:13.650 have a king. God is, Samuel is reminding them 00:25:13.650 --> 00:25:20.009 that your king The Lord your king has defeated 00:25:20.009 --> 00:25:23.009 all these other earthly kings. And now you want 00:25:23.009 --> 00:25:25.569 to go and you want to have a king like the ones 00:25:25.569 --> 00:25:29.210 that the Lord has defeated. It's nonsense. It's 00:25:29.210 --> 00:25:32.490 ignorant. It's utter rebellion. So that's one 00:25:32.490 --> 00:25:39.809 place. God is king. Then in verse 25. Then, verse 00:25:39.809 --> 00:25:42.809 25 of chapter 10. Then Samuel told the people 00:25:42.809 --> 00:25:45.589 the manner of the kingdom and wrote it in a book. 00:25:45.930 --> 00:25:49.009 and laid it before the Lord. And Samuel sent 00:25:49.009 --> 00:25:51.670 all the people away, every man to his own house. 00:25:51.730 --> 00:25:54.589 What's going on there? What do you suppose he 00:25:54.589 --> 00:26:02.150 wrote down? Anybody got any guess? Do you? I 00:26:02.150 --> 00:26:05.269 see you there. You ready to talk? Well, the only 00:26:05.269 --> 00:26:07.109 thing that came into my mind was the thing we 00:26:07.109 --> 00:26:08.730 talked about before where the king's supposed 00:26:08.730 --> 00:26:13.029 to be like reading the law of the Lord. And where's 00:26:13.029 --> 00:26:18.650 that from? That's Deuteronomy chapter 17. Very 00:26:18.650 --> 00:26:23.049 good. I suspect that it was something very similar 00:26:23.049 --> 00:26:27.369 to that. Now remember that the king in God's 00:26:27.369 --> 00:26:30.769 hand is what? To restrain the people the same 00:26:30.769 --> 00:26:33.009 way that the law is going to restrain the people. 00:26:33.109 --> 00:26:35.829 He's going to work in tandem with the law. He's 00:26:35.829 --> 00:26:38.970 going to have that law by his side all the time. 00:26:39.250 --> 00:26:42.779 What function or how did this... Imagine the 00:26:42.779 --> 00:26:45.079 picture. Samuel writes it down, he rolls up the 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:47.599 scroll, and he lays it before the Lord in the 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:50.039 sanctuary, in the tabernacle, wherever that happened 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:57.500 to be. What does that signify? At least a couple 00:26:57.500 --> 00:27:04.220 things. It's almost like an oath, isn't it? It's 00:27:04.220 --> 00:27:07.579 like the King Saul, you're going to be responsible 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:11.470 to act in this way, and I'm calling God. As a 00:27:11.470 --> 00:27:13.710 witness today. And I'm laying it before him. 00:27:14.170 --> 00:27:18.730 And Saul. Doesn't really have a say in it. Saul 00:27:18.730 --> 00:27:21.250 doesn't get to say. Well let's negotiate here. 00:27:21.690 --> 00:27:24.390 And let's find a middle ground. Maybe there's 00:27:24.390 --> 00:27:27.170 some way. That I can have some of my own authority. 00:27:27.730 --> 00:27:31.210 And get outside of God. Just a little bit. Just 00:27:31.210 --> 00:27:33.329 give me a little bit of freedom. No. God just 00:27:33.329 --> 00:27:37.069 says. Through his man Samuel. This is the way 00:27:37.069 --> 00:27:39.589 the king is to act. And he puts it down. Now 00:27:39.589 --> 00:27:42.470 what is that? What does that show you then about 00:27:42.470 --> 00:27:54.829 Saul's place? Is he king high over all? No. He's 00:27:54.829 --> 00:27:58.150 king that has as much authority as God will allow 00:27:58.150 --> 00:28:01.769 him. He can go and do whatever God tells him 00:28:01.769 --> 00:28:06.130 to do. I mean, that's the truth of it. That was 00:28:06.130 --> 00:28:09.049 the extent of his authority and of his freedom. 00:28:09.210 --> 00:28:12.420 He was free. To do whatever God told him to do. 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:16.579 That shows us that God is still king. Then look 00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:21.380 at. In chapter 11. Verse 1 and 2. Then Nahash 00:28:21.380 --> 00:28:24.019 the Ammonite came up. And encamped against Jabesh 00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:26.839 Gilead. And all the men of Judah said unto Nahash. 00:28:27.140 --> 00:28:29.640 Make a covenant with us. And we will serve you. 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:34.359 Now again. Immediately in our minds. When you 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:37.339 read that. Or heard me read that. What did you 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:40.700 think? What was Israel prohibited from ever doing? 00:28:44.019 --> 00:28:47.160 Making any kind of a covenant with anybody else 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:52.039 besides God because God was their, they were 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:54.400 God's people. He was their precious possession. 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:56.279 They weren't allowed to make covenants with anybody 00:28:56.279 --> 00:28:59.319 else because to make a covenant, for God's people 00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:01.779 to now make a covenant with Nahash, what does 00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:11.980 that say? Well, that puts God subservient to 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:18.140 Nahash. Right? Functionally, that's what it looks 00:29:18.140 --> 00:29:20.579 like. Our God was not able to deliver us, so 00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:24.900 now we are in covenant with Nahash. Now, I don't 00:29:24.900 --> 00:29:28.180 know if you... When we were looking at the covenants, 00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:30.720 what is the word when we say make a covenant? 00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:33.980 What is that word make? Cut a covenant. Okay. 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:38.549 Very good, Jake. And verse 2, And Nahash the 00:29:38.549 --> 00:29:41.609 Ammonite answered them, On this condition will 00:29:41.609 --> 00:29:44.869 I cut a covenant with you, that I may cut out 00:29:44.869 --> 00:29:47.549 all your right eyes. Now it seems to me that 00:29:47.549 --> 00:29:50.970 that's exactly what he was doing. We're not cutting 00:29:50.970 --> 00:29:53.109 any animals here and we're not doing anything 00:29:53.109 --> 00:29:55.970 ceremonially. I'm just going to get in there 00:29:55.970 --> 00:29:58.210 and gouge your eye right out and that's going 00:29:58.210 --> 00:30:08.470 to be the sign of our covenant. Now, This is 00:30:08.470 --> 00:30:17.430 a king, remember? Nahash the king. I can't believe 00:30:17.430 --> 00:30:20.829 that this is anything other than God implying 00:30:20.829 --> 00:30:24.569 in the text here that only he is good. Only he 00:30:24.569 --> 00:30:26.789 is righteous. If you're going to get involved 00:30:26.789 --> 00:30:30.009 with a king of any other sort, whether it's Saul 00:30:30.009 --> 00:30:34.809 or Nahash or the Babylonians or the Philistines 00:30:34.809 --> 00:30:38.490 or... Anybody else, it's going to end poorly 00:30:38.490 --> 00:30:42.630 for you. God is the only king. And then in verse 00:30:42.630 --> 00:30:47.849 6, the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard 00:30:47.849 --> 00:30:50.829 those tidings and his anger was kindled greatly. 00:30:51.690 --> 00:30:56.109 And then Saul goes out and he goes out to victory. 00:30:56.730 --> 00:30:59.670 And then he does give credit and say it was God 00:30:59.670 --> 00:31:05.049 that won the victory here. In the story then, 00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:10.700 It's Tentil. In the story then, is Saul able 00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:14.740 to win victory for Israel against the Ammonites? 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:29.460 Well, what does Saul say? Is Saul able to win 00:31:29.460 --> 00:31:36.420 victory against the Ammonites? Who wins the victory? 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:44.240 God. So, again, it's pretty clear then in the 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:47.980 story who the real king is, who the real savior 00:31:47.980 --> 00:31:53.500 is. Who is able to save Israel? Is Saul able 00:31:53.500 --> 00:32:00.500 to save Israel? Only if the spirit of God rushes 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:03.559 upon him, strengthens him, and then God wins 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:06.220 the victory. that it may look like on the outside 00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:09.839 that Saul has had something to do with it. So 00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:11.619 those are the four places. I didn't know I was 00:32:11.619 --> 00:32:13.059 going to write it all down with a whiteboard, 00:32:13.099 --> 00:32:17.920 but we didn't get very far on that. All right, 00:32:17.980 --> 00:32:21.759 what's the lessons here? All right, does anybody 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:24.019 want to say anything before we get on to the 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:44.640 lessons and the application? Chapter 10, verses 00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:53.220 18 and 19. Then chapter 10, verse 25. Chapter 00:32:53.220 --> 00:33:00.279 11, 1 and 2. And then chapter 11, verse 6. Before 00:33:00.279 --> 00:33:03.779 we get to the practical application of this, 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:06.259 did everybody understand what was going on when 00:33:06.259 --> 00:33:08.420 the people were coming and how the lots were 00:33:08.420 --> 00:33:14.720 cast? Or the Urim and the Thurim. Okay, so all 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:24.799 of Israel came together. Now, in chapter 9, in 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:31.500 chapter 9 and in chapter 10, when Samuel anointed 00:33:31.500 --> 00:33:39.539 Saul, who was there? Just Saul and Samuel. So 00:33:39.539 --> 00:33:43.509 this was private. Now, when all the tribes come 00:33:43.509 --> 00:33:47.569 together, does that mean that every person in 00:33:47.569 --> 00:33:49.789 all of Israel was together in the same place? 00:33:50.950 --> 00:33:59.990 No. Who was there? In the Bible, they're called 00:33:59.990 --> 00:34:10.579 what? It's an E word. Elders. Okay, so the elders 00:34:10.579 --> 00:34:12.960 and the representatives of each tribe and the 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:15.699 heads of each family would have been the ones 00:34:15.699 --> 00:34:19.559 that came there. So all those people come together. 00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:23.079 And then, I don't know exactly how it worked, 00:34:23.260 --> 00:34:29.139 but they would walk past Samuel. And whether 00:34:29.139 --> 00:34:31.300 they, you know, if they were casting lots or 00:34:31.300 --> 00:34:34.260 they were using their Urim and Thurim, whatever 00:34:34.260 --> 00:34:36.380 they were doing there, there would be something 00:34:36.380 --> 00:34:39.960 different when... the representative of the tribe 00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:42.619 of Benjamin walked past. And so then that was 00:34:42.619 --> 00:34:46.260 indicative to everybody that was there that our 00:34:46.260 --> 00:34:49.539 king is coming from the tribe of Benjamin. And 00:34:49.539 --> 00:34:51.380 then in the tribe of Benjamin, you would have 00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:54.920 all these divisions. Maybe, I don't have any, 00:34:54.960 --> 00:34:57.639 nobody really knows. Maybe there was 10 clans 00:34:57.639 --> 00:35:00.780 in there. Those clans were divided up into 30 00:35:00.780 --> 00:35:05.690 families or whatever it is. Then each... Smaller 00:35:05.690 --> 00:35:09.150 group of people until finally the family in what 00:35:09.150 --> 00:35:13.050 Madri comes through. And that's the family where 00:35:13.050 --> 00:35:16.929 the king is coming from. And then, although Saul, 00:35:17.190 --> 00:35:19.989 you know, how exactly it happened that they knew 00:35:19.989 --> 00:35:22.690 that it was Saul, nobody really knows that because 00:35:22.690 --> 00:35:26.150 Saul is off hiding somewhere. But the indication 00:35:26.150 --> 00:35:29.210 was that all the rest of these people are passing 00:35:29.210 --> 00:35:33.110 by and nothing happens. And that may be it. We 00:35:33.110 --> 00:35:35.110 know it's from this family, and everybody else 00:35:35.110 --> 00:35:38.150 from the family has passed on, and we still haven't 00:35:38.150 --> 00:35:39.949 got the indication. There must be, and maybe 00:35:39.949 --> 00:35:41.670 that's why they said, is there somebody else? 00:35:43.269 --> 00:35:46.849 And so then only Saul was left, and he's hiding 00:35:46.849 --> 00:35:50.690 the stuff. So that's how that went on. And then, 00:35:50.869 --> 00:35:53.769 now that's just the elders, representative of 00:35:53.769 --> 00:35:55.670 the people. So now we've got a private ceremony, 00:35:55.969 --> 00:35:59.409 we've got all the elders, and then what? In front 00:35:59.409 --> 00:36:02.190 of all the people. was when Saul goes out to 00:36:02.190 --> 00:36:06.190 battle and he slays or defeats the Ammonites. 00:36:06.590 --> 00:36:10.590 So now we have three groups of people. Now, if 00:36:10.590 --> 00:36:13.110 you're ever going to run for office or politics 00:36:13.110 --> 00:36:16.449 or try to be in charge of anything, you better 00:36:16.449 --> 00:36:20.849 have what? You better have the certainty privately 00:36:20.849 --> 00:36:24.070 that this is what God wants you to do. You better 00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:27.570 have the support of the leaders who are going 00:36:27.570 --> 00:36:30.150 to serve you. And then you better have the support 00:36:30.150 --> 00:36:32.570 of the general populace if you're ever going 00:36:32.570 --> 00:36:35.489 to be able to rule them effectively. That's why 00:36:35.489 --> 00:36:39.349 in America we have elections. You don't get to 00:36:39.349 --> 00:36:42.230 be elected as anything if you don't have some 00:36:42.230 --> 00:36:45.250 people behind you and if you don't have the support 00:36:45.250 --> 00:36:48.070 of all the people. That's why you have these 00:36:48.070 --> 00:36:53.329 three different occasions where Saul is anointed 00:36:53.329 --> 00:36:57.610 or announced to be, confirmed to be king. Because 00:36:57.610 --> 00:37:00.969 it was... necessary for the entirety of the nation 00:37:00.969 --> 00:37:04.230 to come together and recognize that it was God's 00:37:04.230 --> 00:37:06.909 selection. Now I called Samuel the kingmaker 00:37:06.909 --> 00:37:10.289 and he is. He anoints Saul and then he anoints 00:37:10.289 --> 00:37:15.730 David. But there was no doubt in Saul's mind 00:37:15.730 --> 00:37:18.489 when he was alone with Samuel that it was God 00:37:18.489 --> 00:37:21.070 who was anointing him. There was no doubt amongst 00:37:21.070 --> 00:37:24.170 all the elders when the lots fell upon this one 00:37:24.170 --> 00:37:27.159 specific person. that it was God who was making 00:37:27.159 --> 00:37:30.539 that selection. And then in battle, when the 00:37:30.539 --> 00:37:33.639 Ammonites are all slain, there was no question 00:37:33.639 --> 00:37:36.579 in anybody's mind that it was in the battle that 00:37:36.579 --> 00:37:40.059 day and then went home, but that God had come 00:37:40.059 --> 00:37:44.059 in spirit, had rushed upon Saul, and had achieved 00:37:44.059 --> 00:37:47.159 victory for Israel. And so no one then in Israel 00:37:47.159 --> 00:37:51.340 could deny that this was God's anointed. That's 00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:53.480 why I believe you have these three different... 00:37:54.240 --> 00:37:58.260 occasions of kingship. Alright, anybody want 00:37:58.260 --> 00:38:01.699 to venture a guess on what we ought to learn 00:38:01.699 --> 00:38:06.380 from this as far as our own practical application 00:38:06.380 --> 00:38:10.159 of it? Take it home with us. It's all just been 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:14.920 kind of academic up until now. Kind of had the 00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:18.300 same stories we always have. God is king and 00:38:18.300 --> 00:38:30.099 we can never say that too much. So, I mean, the 00:38:30.099 --> 00:38:33.300 hero in all this is Samuel, of course. He's the 00:38:33.300 --> 00:38:35.420 one that gets up there and ruins the great day, 00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:38.079 right? Here we've got all the, we're going to 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:40.679 cast the lots and find the king, and the first 00:38:40.679 --> 00:38:44.500 thing Samuel says is, you rebels, you ungrateful 00:38:44.500 --> 00:38:47.320 rebels, God brought you out of Egypt and defeated 00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:49.139 all the kings in front of you, and now you're 00:38:49.139 --> 00:38:51.179 casting them off and you want this other king. 00:38:53.389 --> 00:38:55.690 So that's one lesson. We can take a lesson from 00:38:55.690 --> 00:39:00.070 that, and that is what? That the person declaring 00:39:00.070 --> 00:39:04.309 the word of God is going to be blunt and clear 00:39:04.309 --> 00:39:06.570 to everybody that hears, and that's what you 00:39:06.570 --> 00:39:09.789 want. You don't want somebody allowing you to 00:39:09.789 --> 00:39:12.530 wonder. You don't want somebody who's just going 00:39:12.530 --> 00:39:16.130 to let you kind of go about and keep doing the 00:39:16.130 --> 00:39:17.849 same thing. You want somebody that's going to 00:39:17.849 --> 00:39:20.449 put it right in your face in black and white, 00:39:20.510 --> 00:39:23.070 and that's what you see the prophets do. Throughout 00:39:23.070 --> 00:39:25.190 the Bible. Not just in the Old Testament. But 00:39:25.190 --> 00:39:27.869 in the New. What does Paul do? He goes into the 00:39:27.869 --> 00:39:31.050 city and what? He turns everything upside down. 00:39:31.150 --> 00:39:36.190 And the sorcerer. It's all done. It all comes 00:39:36.190 --> 00:39:40.949 crashing down. So don't despise the person. That 00:39:40.949 --> 00:39:45.250 tells you plainly and clearly. What's going on. 00:39:45.449 --> 00:39:47.869 And what ought to be going on. And the proper 00:39:47.869 --> 00:39:50.150 application of God's word. It's not always pretty. 00:39:51.050 --> 00:39:53.650 It's not always flowery, but it ought to always 00:39:53.650 --> 00:39:58.250 be clear. It ought to always bear upon our minds 00:39:58.250 --> 00:40:02.829 and upon our hearts. Here's the next one. Outward 00:40:02.829 --> 00:40:05.789 appearances can be deceiving. I mean, if you 00:40:05.789 --> 00:40:09.210 were just a bystander in Israel, you would say, 00:40:09.250 --> 00:40:14.250 wow, this guy got anointed by Samuel, the man 00:40:14.250 --> 00:40:18.159 of God, whose word has never failed. The guy 00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:21.099 that has given advice and judged for years and 00:40:21.099 --> 00:40:24.639 has never been wrong. And then they had this 00:40:24.639 --> 00:40:28.000 loss. And of all the people in Israel, it was 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:31.019 this guy. And then this guy went out and he killed 00:40:31.019 --> 00:40:34.760 all the Ammonite armies. Scattered them. Won 00:40:34.760 --> 00:40:38.840 this great victory. Everything looks great, doesn't 00:40:38.840 --> 00:40:43.599 it? But under the surface, things aren't so great. 00:40:45.679 --> 00:40:50.539 So, Two lessons. Number one, don't judge this 00:40:50.539 --> 00:40:53.539 entirety of a scenario or circumstance by the 00:40:53.539 --> 00:40:56.519 outward appearance. Don't assume that because 00:40:56.519 --> 00:40:58.460 everything looks good on the outside, everything 00:40:58.460 --> 00:41:01.719 must be good. You can make that application to 00:41:01.719 --> 00:41:04.699 people that you know, to circumstances that you 00:41:04.699 --> 00:41:09.659 know, to whatever. Across the board. Dig deeper 00:41:09.659 --> 00:41:13.230 than just the outward appearance. If you're going 00:41:13.230 --> 00:41:16.050 to invest yourself into someone or into something, 00:41:16.309 --> 00:41:19.909 you better do more than just barely scratch the 00:41:19.909 --> 00:41:26.750 surface. And yet, what? In this not great situation, 00:41:26.849 --> 00:41:31.829 amongst this flawed person who's hiding, who's 00:41:31.829 --> 00:41:35.650 self -interested, who does all the wrong things 00:41:35.650 --> 00:41:39.829 at every opportunity, what? God is working. Now 00:41:39.829 --> 00:41:43.300 that's good news. For you and for me. Because 00:41:43.300 --> 00:41:49.460 we're flawed people. It's not an excuse. Don't 00:41:49.460 --> 00:41:51.739 let anybody leave this place and say, well, Dave 00:41:51.739 --> 00:41:54.679 said we're all flawed, so just sit back and God 00:41:54.679 --> 00:41:58.260 will do his work. God will accomplish his purpose. 00:41:58.800 --> 00:42:03.440 It wasn't real pleasant for Saul. God did accomplish 00:42:03.440 --> 00:42:06.340 his purposes through Saul, but it was a painful... 00:42:06.829 --> 00:42:10.510 and a treacherous ride for him the rest of his 00:42:10.510 --> 00:42:18.230 life. But God can use people who are flawed. 00:42:18.469 --> 00:42:21.690 God can come into a situation and a circumstance 00:42:21.690 --> 00:42:25.329 that's flawed, and he can fix it. He can still 00:42:25.329 --> 00:42:27.750 accomplish his purpose. There is still hope, 00:42:27.769 --> 00:42:30.769 as long as it is today, because God is still 00:42:30.769 --> 00:42:36.409 king, and God is still ruling. Don't wait for 00:42:36.409 --> 00:42:41.610 the day when you'll be perfect. Now, you're all 00:42:41.610 --> 00:42:46.150 witnesses here that I'm not perfect. I've had 00:42:46.150 --> 00:42:49.070 to stand up here and ask your forgiveness. You've 00:42:49.070 --> 00:42:54.409 seen me be unclear and, you know, hopefully I've 00:42:54.409 --> 00:42:57.550 made progress over the years. But if I was to 00:42:57.550 --> 00:43:00.329 have waited 10 years ago and said, well, until 00:43:00.329 --> 00:43:05.969 I can be perfect, then I can't. have any use 00:43:05.969 --> 00:43:09.369 for God's people, then where would I be today? 00:43:09.949 --> 00:43:14.929 I'd still be waiting, wouldn't I? So don't use 00:43:14.929 --> 00:43:18.710 your imperfections as an excuse to stay out of 00:43:18.710 --> 00:43:21.170 the work of ministering God's love and God's 00:43:21.170 --> 00:43:24.170 word amongst yourselves and amongst the world. 00:43:24.769 --> 00:43:28.909 God can and will use flawed people to accomplish 00:43:28.909 --> 00:43:32.829 his purpose. It's not okay to be flawed. But 00:43:32.829 --> 00:43:35.449 we own it. We acknowledge it before God and we 00:43:35.449 --> 00:43:39.730 move forward. And what do we trust? That it's 00:43:39.730 --> 00:43:41.989 not really me that's doing the work. And that's 00:43:41.989 --> 00:43:43.889 the only reason that I'm up here. It's not really 00:43:43.889 --> 00:43:47.809 Dave. It's God that's going to own that word 00:43:47.809 --> 00:43:51.289 that goes forth. And the part that is meant for 00:43:51.289 --> 00:43:53.849 you or the entirety of it that's meant to you 00:43:53.849 --> 00:43:56.630 by his spirit, he's going to seal that in your 00:43:56.630 --> 00:43:59.329 heart. And he's going to use that in your life 00:43:59.329 --> 00:44:03.949 for his glory and for your good. All right, those 00:44:03.949 --> 00:44:05.570 are my three. Anybody else want to say anything 00:44:05.570 --> 00:44:11.409 else? Those aren't the only applications there. 00:44:12.789 --> 00:44:15.289 And if the Spirit spoke to you in some kind of 00:44:15.289 --> 00:44:16.269 way, great.